Flash Tizzle

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I don't believe this will effect the price of other starting pitchers, either. Buehrle's contract next season, if he pitches comparable to 2005, could easily meet 16mil/5 years.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 06:53 PM) I doubt Miller will do any Cy Young-type dominating this year. Young phenoms generally don't dominate IMMEDIATELY. Think Felix Hernandez. (Of course, we've got Liriano and Jered Weaver as counters, but I just don't think Miller will come up and dominate. How old's he, 19?) I don't believe its a guarantee he'll immediate produce, either. However, if the 5th starter (Durbin/Ledezma/Minor) are struggling and Rogers' recovery extends past July, I would take my chances with a 96mph fastball/88-89 mph slider from the left side. He'll be 22 this season.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6632584 Great deal, if it's somewhere along these reported terms. I suppose when an organization dedicates themselves to scouting, and the results are evident with a player such as Zambrano, extensions such as these are possible.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Apr 1, 2007 -> 05:09 PM) I personally feel the Tigs were one year wonders, and I don't think the Twins have that good of a rotation to be as good as their were last year. I think it will go White Sox, Indians, Twins, Tigers, Royals. For the East, I think the Yanks will win it once again, followed by the BJays, and the Red Sox offseason fails miserably with them in 3rd place. It's obvious, as with the 2005/6 White Sox, the Tigers' success will ultimately depend upon the starting rotation. How I look at it is Verlander and Bonderman are both 24 year old pitchers; both capable of improving -- or atleast matching -- last season's statistics. Robertson will likely regress, as will Mike Maroth (based upon limited innings); but I don't know if it will be to the extent our starters fell back. We'll have to see with these two. An obvious "x-factor" here is Andrew Miller. If someone within the rotation (likely Durbin) is struggling, and several starters aren't living up to expectations, we will undoubtedly see him in the second half. If he's capable of immediately producing, that may give their ballclub three potential aces atop the rotation. Such a formidable front of starters can overcome any reasonable deficit in the division.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/...phia-phillies2/ Look at that. They're actually surprised to have received Garcia for only Gonzalez/Floyd. As if to suggest Williams only could have asked for those two because he knew Garcia wasn't healthy. Which is probably true, but doesn't necessarily imply that other general managers were aware. Professional baseball organizations aren't always run by savvy, intelligent baseball minds. Not requesting a physical for someone with an 88mph fastball should suggest as much. I've come to a point where I'm entirely convinced the following events occurred leading up to the Garcia deal: 1. Williams realizes Garcia's velocity decline wasn't the result of the World Baseball Classic, or October baseball, and understands it may never return to previous levels. He'll need to leave. 2. An instruction is sent out for scouts to monitor Philadelphia's farm system 3. White Sox scouts (in addition to Williams own observations) identify Gonzalez and Floyd. 4. During Winter League discussions, Williams offers Garcia to various clubs but no one is willing to accept him for an appropriate price. 5. Near the end of the Winter Meetings; fearing Garcia's stock may fall further -- or teams seeking pitching may seek alternative options -- Williams inquires about the availability of Gonzalez and Floyd. He's probably afraid of asking for a maximum return in the event Gilleck rejects the proposal, and yet another option is off the table. So, he settles for less to guarantee a trade. 6. Gilleck and his executives are shocked by the low request and immediately accept the offer. Initial thoughts within the organization are the move may be a salary dump. People can still hold their heads in the sand, dismiss the article as biased; whatever. We could and should have received more for Garcia. I don't care if his arm falls off tomorrow and he never pitches again. When fans of Philadelphia themselves realize Garcia was exchanged for so little, then you begin to wonder.

It'd sure be great to have our distinguished minor league experts release the Top 25 in time for opening day.

QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 31, 2007 -> 05:23 PM) Sowers throws softly on the corners with his left hand. All they'll need is 1 run against us. You can all but guarantee he'll frustrate this lineup. I'd love to watch the entire game on ESPN, but frankly, I'm not interested in hearing about Civil Rights and baseball for 9....straight....innings.

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines

WOW. Best breaking ball I've seen in quite awhile from Thornton.

A plus changeup is what could throw Jenks into the realm of Gagne 2003/4. Even if he were to remain 96-98, as was the range of velocity for large portion of last season, that's still devastating with two effective offspeed pitches.

LOL, Hawk avoided that entire discussion about Boone Logan fairly quick.

QUOTE(Dick Allen @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 05:51 PM) Hawk never says Buerhle reminds him of Catfish anymore. Another surprise is I don't believe I've heard either Hawk or DJ comment on the Garcia/McCArthy deals for more than a minute. They've yet to explain the moves (in their minds) or try to sell us on the potential of the players received. Very odd. You almost wonder whether they're fans of the deals.

QUOTE(BearSox @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 05:42 PM) How come we cant get scouts like Atlanta? They have 3 young studs, all of whom were from Atlanta. Just one of the mysteries of life. Similar to Minnesota and their scouts. Oh sure, we're willing to emulate the Twins organization on the field; but when it comes to their ability to scout and develop, it's impossible to match. It just seems people have concluded that's the way things are, shrug their shoulders, and move on.

QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 05:22 PM) My only hope for Buerhle is that he doesnt stink so bad that people dont want to trade for him. That would be the worst case scenario. Not only that, but if his season is terrible -- in comparison to other FA pitchers -- we may receive no compensation for him. A good season from Buehrle helps everyone.

UH OH1!! No park would have contained that.

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 05:15 PM) Suspended for a personal attack. I believe it was because I asked if someone was that "dense." I'm called that everyday. When I noticed you were banned, my first thoughts were because of the "worst offseason moves" thread or because you called Erstad "grinderstad."

QUOTE(santo=dorf @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 05:13 PM) From now on anytime Darin hits a weak chopper to the right side of the infield, it shall be known as a "Grind out." How many pitches did Darin (keep spelling "Drain") see? Why were you banned from WSI?

Chuck James is the protypical soft tossing lefthander who gives us fits. I suppose the difference between him and other scrubs who have shut us down in the past is Chuck has experienced minor league success.

QUOTE(beck72 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 07:02 AM) For all the criticism about what the sox got for Freddy, esp in Floyd, I still like KW's ways about trying to improve the club. I'd much rather Williams take a few gambles on pitchers who have a big upside once in a while, than to go for the "safe" picks. Guys like McCulloch and Broadway are safe picks. Yet their upsides are not that high. It's easy to see Floyd's failures and say, "See he still sucks". Its' harder to wait a bit and see if there's any talent that can help the sox. Whether Floyd and the sox can harness his talent, who knows. But IMO it's still too early to throw him away. I like the idea; I dislike the execution. As if I'm unaware of the "safe" pick philosophy or the supposed ceilings of McCulloch and Broadway. I've criticized both selections continually. If it were my decision, Cesar Carrillo and Pedro Beato would have been our respective draft selections for 2005 and 2006. Floyd might have been an ideal acquisition under different pretenses. But as it were, the goal in dealing Garcia should have been receiving the best possible package. I just don't believe including Floyd (especially) and Gonzalez alone accomplishes this without an additional prospect added in. I'll be the first to recognize the risks of drafting high school arms. Kris Honel sticks out immediately as the downfalls of such a selection. If the choice is between a high ceiling, high school arm and a Broadway clone -- the former should be considered. We have enough 4th/5th starters within the system to supply half the American League. First goal should be selecting a collegiate starting pitcher who was plus stuff and falls due to signability concerns. Teams such as Anaheim, Boston, and New York are picking behind us. We should take advantage of this. With a deep draft in the pitching department, there should be a solid pitcher available at our slot of #25.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 03:23 PM) If the Sox lose Contreras they're f***ed seeing as how he's their best starter. Rogers on the other hand is the Tigers' 3rd best starter and once his replacement Chad Durbin s***s the bed we'll see another of their future aces in Andrew Miller. This injury sucks and all but it's hardly going to derail the Tigers' season. But.....he has only pitched fifteen innings in the Detroit Tigers organization. How can you determine that!?!

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 11:51 AM) So am I the only one that doesn't buy this at all? No, you're not. I don't know how the pressure is off. Sure, it may be off in the beginning of the season; but if we're in contention no one is going to surprised. I'll sure as hell guarantee anyone that the pressure will mount if we're struggling out of the gate. Even with varying opinions on our success from fans, Williams isn't treating this season as a rebuilding effort. He'll be justly criticized for our failures. A major league ballclub configured specifically for contention shouldn't need bulletin board material from baseball writers selecting them for 3th or 4th place. Only motivation necessary is winning, and perhaps earning themselves a large payday further down the road.

So, if Buehrle struggles will the excuse be: "it's only spring training; wait until the season begins" or "(he's) disinterested in this game with the beginning of the season approaching"? Personally, I'm expecting a good performance. The time for working on mechanical issues and secondary pitches have since passed.

QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 07:40 AM) Yes -- it's scary weak up the middle. One of Valido and John Shelby need to step up this year, hopefully both. On an unrelated note, I hope that by trading for Danks, the Sox will now have no fear of taking a Boras client in round one. I really would've been interested to see if Daniel Bard (I think it is?), the UNC pitcher fell to the Sox last year. He was just one spot away before the Sox picked -- the other Sox grabbed him, FWIW. He had some pretty easy looking heat in that College World Series. I remember seeing a whole page of curse-words on Soxtalk as the BoSox took him. Aside from Bard, the consensus selection for the White Sox appeared to be Pedro Beato. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...1&start=400 Interesting. Here's my own perspective on drafting McCulloch: QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Jun 6, 2006 -> 12:03 PM) I'm convinced the White Sox purposely drafted a Lance Broadway clone just to irritate me. Why didn't they take Pedro Beato? I'll be sure to follow Beato's progress through Baltimore's minor league system, as I have with Carrillo. Can anyone tell me who Minnesota drafted? I'm guessing it's a hard throwing right hander with a plus slider who'll be dominating our lineup for years. (sigh) He would have looked great in our system.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2007 @ Mar 30, 2007 -> 03:28 AM) I love how Tizzle waited until Danks got rocked to start a watch on him. lol, trust me -- that's pure coincidence. I thought it'd be more appropriate to have both pitchers compared side by side since both will be pitching in the majors. Earlier, when I first created it, Danks wasn't our 5th starter.